US Supreme Court extends deadline flexibility for immigrants who self-deport – JURIST
The US Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that immigrants who are offered voluntary departure have some deadline flexibility. The case, argued last November, concerned undocumented Mexican immigrant Monsalvo Velázquez, who was ordered removed and allowed to self-deport. The court sided with Velázquez, ruling that his Saturday departure deadline should have been extended to the next Monday.
In a 5-4 decision, Justice Gorsuch opined:
[A] voluntary-departure deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday extends to the next business day. … Since at least the 1950s, immigration regulations have provided that when calculating deadlines, the term “day” carries its specialized meaning by excluding Sundays and legal holidays (and later Saturdays) if a deadline would otherwise fall on one of those days.
Velázquez entered the US over 20 years ago, he has since attended college and high school. He and his wife reside in Colorado with their two US citizen children.
Velázquez was ordered removed in 2019 and subsequently filed suit challenging his deportation. The immigration judge found Velázquez removable but provided him with the opportunity to voluntarily leave the country with a deadline of 60 days, under 8 U.S.C. 1229c. After a failed attempt to appeal, his departure deadline ultimately landed on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Velázquez filed a motion to reopen his removal proceedings the prior Friday; it was not received until Monday, December 13. The motion was denied due to being past his departure deadline.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court, where Velasquez and the Justice Department contested the meaning of “60 days” for voluntary departure. Velasquez argued that, under the law, any deadline falling on a holiday or weekend must extend to the next business day, with which the court agreed.
However, Justice Clarence Thomas—joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—dissented, claiming that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over this claim. They believe that questions of law should have first been decided by a lower court before Supreme Court review.
Voluntary departure allows for undocumented immigrants to leave the US of their own accord. It holds some benefits, as there will be no deportation order on an individual’s record. A deportation order precludes various immigration benefits and prevents reentry to the US for at least ten years.
Amid the various litigation occurring during the Trump administration’s current immigration crackdown, the court’s seemingly sympathetic opinion recognized the impact of this holding:
Who is right on this question of statutory interpretation matters greatly to people like Mr. Monsalvo. Not only does it affect the time one may have to reopen immigration proceedings. As we have seen, it also affects an individual’s exposure to detention, removal, and fines, and carries with it serious ramifications for his ability to seek lawful status for years into the future.
